1. Applicable Field of Industry
This invention relates to a releasable double-hinge device to be suitably used for the lid of an automobile console box, or of an electric rice boiler, or the door of a cabinet, in order for the lid or the door to be capable of being opened from either of opposite ends and totally removed.
2. Prior Art
As shown in FIG. 8 of the accompanying drawings, an automobile is normally provided at a side of the driver's seat a with a console box b for storing small items having a lid c which is preferably hinged not only at the front end d but also at the rear end e for user's convenience.
FIGS. 9(A) and 9(B) show that the lid of the console box is hinged at both the front and rear ends and therefore can be swung open in the direction of not only arrow f but also arrow g. FIG. 9(C) shows that the lid C can be totally removed from the console box whenever necessary. FIG. 10(A) and FIG. 10(B) show known releasable double-hinge devices to be used for such a console box.
With a known releasable double-hinge device as illustrated in FIG. 10(A) and disclosed in Japanese Patent Tokkai Shou No. 60-242275, the box main body h is provided at a side as well as at the opposite side with a pair of oppositely arranged lock holes i, into which a pair of lock pins k arranged on the corresponding side of the lid j can be respectively introduced firstly by depressing them by means of a hand-operated implement (not shown) against the resilient force of a built-in spring and thereafter by releasing them into the respective holes. Obviously, such operation is cumbersome as it requires manipulation of an implement, particularly when the lid j is removed because both hands should be used for the operation.
With another known releasable double-hinge device as illustrated in FIG. 10(B) and disclosed in Japanese Patent Jitsukai Shou No. 60-90042, the box main body 1 is provided at each of a pair of opposing sides with a pair of oppositely arranged pins m and n, which are received by respective C-shaped deformable bearings p or q arranged on the corresponding edges of the lid o. The lid o equipped with such a double-hinge device would not rotate smoothly when the engagement between the pin and the bearing is loose, whereas it should be removed and put back in position with considerable effort if a smoothly rotatable engagement is to be achieved between the pin and the bearing.
A similar device disclosed in Japanese Patent Jitsukai Hei No. 1-86674 involves a lever to be operated for installing a lid. While a door lock device designed for a refrigerator and disclosed in Japanese Patent Tokkai Shou No. 59-52183 and a door fitting structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Tokkai Shou No. 58-86277 may fall in the same category of the device in question, they have a rather complicated configuration involving latches, springs and knobs.
In view of the problems and disadvantages of the known devices, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a releasable double-hinge device for an automobile console box constituted by a box main body having at the top an opening and a box lid for removably covering the opening of the box main body, said device comprising two sets of an identical number of pivotal members rotatably arranged along the lateral edges of the box main body and two set of the same number of connectors arranged at respective corresponding positions under and along the lateral edges of the box lid so that the box lid may be releasably fitted to the box main body by engaging the connectors with the respective pivotal members without using a lever or a similar tool, and opened and closed smoothly as the pivotal members and the respective corresponding connectors are securely and mutually engaged, although it may be separated from the box main body simply by pulling it with an appropriate pulling force. With such an arrangement, the number of components of the device may be minimized and the operation of assembling the components may be simplified.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a releasable double-hinge device of the type as described above further comprising shafts attached to a console main box so that pairs of pivotal members and the associated connectors are mutually and integrally connected by means of the respective shaft to ensure smooth movement of the releasable lid of the console box.
A third object of the present invention is to provide a releasable double-hinge device of the type as described above further comprising assist-springs arranged around the respective shafts in order to urge the box lid to be opened or closed with ease.